Bio & Credentials

Helping People Move Beyond Fear and Toward a Life Unhindered

I believe that meaningful change is possible when we learn to approach life's challenges with greater courage, flexibility, and confidence. My work focuses on helping individuals break free from patterns of anxiety, avoidance, and uncertainty that interfere with living fully.

My Approach to Therapy

My approach is active, collaborative, and grounded in science. I draw primarily from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), helping individuals identify unhelpful patterns, develop practical skills, and gradually face the situations and experiences that have been holding them back.

I recognize that meaningful change often requires stepping outside our comfort zones. My goal is to provide both the support and encouragement needed to take those steps, while helping individuals recognize their own strengths and capabilities.

Ultimately, I want the people I work with to feel increasingly confident in their ability to navigate life's challenges independently, rather than feeling that they must eliminate fear or uncertainty before moving forward.

Experience & Qualifications at a Glance

• 20+ years of clinical experience

• Licensed psychologist in Kansas, Missouri, and Iowa

• M.S. and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, University of Georgia

• Two-year postdoctoral fellowship, Mayo Clinic

• Extensive specialized training and supervision in CBT and ERP with leading professionals in the OCD and anxiety treatment field

• Extensive specialized training in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and the ComB model for body-focused repetitive behaviors

• Basic training completed in Accelerated Resolution Therapy

Specialized Training & Professional Experience

I earned my Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Georgia in 2005, with specialized training in the assessment and treatment of anxiety and obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders.

I completed my clinical psychology internship at SUNY Upstate Medical University, followed by a two-year postdoctoral fellowship in Clinical Child Psychology at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

My professional experience also includes academic and research appointments as:

• Assistant Professor, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine

• Research Assistant Professor, Department of Neurology, Hoglund Brain Imaging Center, University of Kansas Medical Center

• Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Missouri–Kansas City

Following my fellowship in 2007, I joined the Kansas City Center for Anxiety Treatment (KCCAT), where I spent seven years providing specialized treatment to children, adolescents, and adults. My work included intensive Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for OCD, anxiety disorders, and related conditions.

In 2015, I established my private practice to continue providing individualized, evidence-based specialty treatment.

I also served on the board of OCD Kansas for 10 years, a local nonprofit affiliate of the International OCD Foundation, dedicated to increasing awareness, education, and community support for individuals and families affected by OCD and related disorders.

Why I Love This Work

One of the most rewarding parts of my work is watching people discover that they can do things they once believed were impossible.

There is something incredibly powerful about seeing someone move toward a meaningful goal despite fear, uncertainty, or self-doubt.

I love helping people recognize that they don't have to wait until they feel completely confident or comfortable to begin living more fully. Most often, confidence develops through the very process of doing difficult things.

Helping people experience that transformation is what makes this work so meaningful to me.

Let’s work collaboratively to help you live a life that is less dictated by fear and more guided by what truly matters to you.

A life unhindered.

Selected publications:

Smith, A., & Jacobsen, A. M. (2017). Childhood Anxiety Disorders. New York, NY: Momentum Press.

Jacobsen, A. M., & Smith, A. (2017). Symmetry and Ordering Symptoms in Children and Adolescents. In D. McKay, E. Storch, & J. Abramowitz (Eds.), Handbook of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Across the Lifespan. New York, NY: Wiley.

Young, B. J., Wallace, D. P., Imig, M., Borgerding, L., Brown Jacobsen, A. M., & Whiteside, S. P. (2013). Parenting behaviors and childhood anxiety: A psychometric investigation of the EMBU-C. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 22, 1138-1146.

Jacob, M. L., Morelen, D., Suveg, C., Brown Jacobsen, A. & Whiteside S. (2012). Emotional, Behavioral, and Cognitive Factors that Differentiate Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and other Anxiety Disorders in Youth. Anxiety, Stress, and Coping, 25, 229-37.

Vande Voort, J. L., Svecova, J., Brown Jacobsen, A., & Whiteside, S. P. (2010). Retrospective Examination of the Similarity between Clinical Practice and Manualized Treatment for Childhood Anxiety Disorders. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 17, 322-328.

Whiteside, S. P. & Brown Jacobsen, A. (2010). An Uncontrolled Examination of a Five Day Intensive Treatment for Pediatric OCD. Behavior Therapy, 41, 414-422.

Whiteside, S. P., Brown, A., & Abramowitz, J. (2008). Five Day Intensive Treatment for Adolescent OCD: A Case Series. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 22, 495-504.